Energy consumed in commercial buildings accounts for 26% of the City of Easton’s total GHG emissions. Improving the efficiency of our commercial building stock and reducing the energy demand will contribute significantly to achieving City of Easton’s greenhouse gas reduction target.

 

 

• Decrease emissions from from existing commercial buildings
  1. Require benchmarking and disclosure of energy and water use in buildings (utilize EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager)
  2. Establish a building retrofit program to replace fossil fuel appliances and systems with high efficiency electric options such as Energy Star.
  3. Promote the Pennsylvania C-PACE program and local utility rebate programs to commercial building owners to finance system retrofits and energy efficiency measures.
  4. Conduct outreach and trainings regarding the benefits of energy efficiency measures and encourage solar or other non GHG emitting renewable energy installations
  5. Research options for new tax incentives, grants, subsidies, or other financial support for retrofits and energy efficiency measures.
• Ensure new commercial buildings are constructed to minimize emissions
  1. Encourage use of net-zero emissions building standards like LEED for new construction, and the installation of renewable energy options on-site (solar panels, etc.).
  2. Review and update building codes to promote increased efficiency and decrease emissions
  3. Encourage (and consider requiring) green space included for all commercial development/ redevelopment